“Axel—my half-brother—and I have been pitted against each other from the moment we both shifted for the first time. I told you how there’s always been one Silverback born in each generation in my family, making the alpha of our troop always an Aaron. But this last generation, there were two born.”
Turning her head, she gazed at him with her brow furrowed, a little line forming between her eyes that he wanted to smooth away. “You and your brother.”
Nodding, he gave into the urge, gently touching his fingertip to her soft skin. “Yes. From the age of ten and up, we were forced to fight each other. That’s how it’s done in the wild, and the more dominant gorilla wins, becoming the Silverback. But we were always so evenly matched, there was never a clear winner. So, we were forced to fight over and over again in a never ending battle to see who was more dominant.”
“That’s awful,” she replied, horror in her moss green eyes.
“It was. There are a lot of horrible traditions in my troop that need changed. It’ll take work, but I’m going to do it.” Shaking his head, he continued on. “Anyway, he eventually had enough, and he ran away. He’s the only one from our troop to ever leave, but he just couldn’t take the constant fights. Especially since we were close when we weren’t being forced into fighting. But my point is this. If he’d just talked to me before he ran, I could have told him I didn’t want to be the Silverback in charge. And that maybe if we both put our foot down and refused to fight, the others—Pops especially—would have let our decision stand.”
“You think I should just talk to her. See how she really feels before making any decisions.”
“It’s what I wish Axel had done. And because he didn’t, our lives all changed irrevocably.” Turning to face her, he took her hands in his. “I don’t want you to lose your sister like I lost Axel. You need to talk to her and find out the truth. Then, you make your decision from there. Maybe her silence is because of something else, and not what you think it might be. If you deny yourself happiness based on a misunderstanding, that will only make her guilt worse when she finds out. It’ll only end up hurting her in the end.
“And if your suspicions are true… Well, I also think you shouldn’t live your life for her—you should live it for you. No one should live their life based on the fear of how others will react to their choices. We all have a right to be happy, and you shouldn’t deny yourself that chance because you’re worried about how someone else feels.”
Her green eyes were wide as she stared at him, her pupils flickering briefly, and he wondered if he crossed the line. He didn’t want her to think he was trying to run her life. That was his whole point—no one should have the right to run someone else’s life.
“I’m not telling you that for selfish reasons,” he clarified. “It might seem like it, because you know how much I want to be with you, but it’s not. I genuinely believe that. The only person who has a say in our lives is ourselves.”
She didn’t reply, and just as he began to worry that he’d screwed everything up, she shocked him by leaning up and placing her lips gently on his. Relief filled him as she held them there for a few heartbeats, and then she pulled away with a soft smile.
“Thank you, Cody. I didn’t know just how much I needed to hear those words. You’re right, of course. About all of it. But I still need to talk to Fiona first. Speaking of,” she said, glancing around, “it’s getting dark, so I need to get home soon. I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving, and I need to talk to the other dragons about what happened last night. I should have told them already, but I was hoping to have more information before I did. I thought at first that someone figured out we were here, but now that I know about you, I’m not sure.”
Cody frowned as he thought about the message on the movie screen and the fight that followed. “I can’t know for sure, but I don’t think that was aimed at you. I think it was aimed at my people. You guys barely go into town, and I know no one’s spotted you shifting. I hear about everything that happens in New Leaf, so I definitely would have heard if a dragon was spotted. No, it was for my troop. I’ve got everyone on alert and looking for clues, so we should know who and why soon.”
“I’m sure the women will be relieved it wasn’t aimed at us, but someone going after you and your troop doesn’t make me feel much better.”
Warmth spread through his chest as he brushed her hair back from her face. “Don’t worry. We can take care of ourselves. Nothing will happen to us, and I won’t let anything happen to you and your friends, either. Besides, the ones from last night might well have been the extent of the threat, and they won’t be bothering anyone ever again.”
Honestly, he wasn’t sure those four had been the only people behind it, and judging by the look in her eyes, she wasn’t sure of that, either. But until they knew more, or more of them showed themselves, there was no need to borrow trouble.
“Okay. I feel fairly confident in saying the women won’t want to run, so just remember, if this turns out to be a bigger threat, your troop has five dragons on your side.”
A slow smile spread across his face as he nodded. Leaning down, he gave her one last kiss before reluctantly pulling back. “Okay, my little badass. Let’s get you home.”
She nodded and hopped off the tailgate before he could help her down. As he raised it, she gave him a smile that was a little sad around the edges before walking to the passenger door.
She had nothing to be sad about. This wouldn’t be the last time they were together, and if he had his way, his home would soon be his mate’s.
It felt like he’d been waiting forever for a woman he felt like this about to come along. And now that she had, now that he knew she was his mate, he didn’t want to wait. He wanted to claim her and begin their lives together.
He’d wait as long as she needed. He wouldn’t be a prick and push her, especially not after learning what she’d been through.
But once she was ready, he wasn’t wasting a single fucking second.
Chapter 16
Olivia
“He’s a what?”
Wincing at Carlie’s disbelieving shriek, Olivia repeated herself. “Cody’s a hybrid. Half vampire, half gorilla.”
Her words seemed to echo around the living room, and she looked from face to face, gauging their reactions. Paisley showed no true emotion, just scrutinized her silently. Sierra was pale and looked like she might faint at any moment. Fiona was biting her lip, her brow wrinkled in a worried frown.
And Carlie, despite her shriek a moment ago, had excitement and awe in her eyes.
“Does this change the way you feel about him?” Paisley asked quietly.